Indian Tail resident to lead middle school

MONROE – Union Academy announced June 4 the selection of Paul Williams as its new middle school principal. He will take on the new role later this month.

Williams comes to Union Academy with nearly 20 years of teaching and leadership experience in Guilford County Schools, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Union County Public Schools.

His most-recent principal role was from 2012 to 2016 at McClintock Middle School, a Title I school in Charlotte with more than 1,000 students and 60 staff members. While at McClintock, Williams opened a new school building, led the transition from a traditional middle school to a science, technology, engineering, arts and math magnet school and facilitated a successful partnership with Christ Lutheran Church that increased volunteer and parent involvement.

His focus on academics included bringing the Teach to One math program to McClintock, the only school in North Carolina to use the model. Teach to One uses technology and personalized/flexible student groupings to improve achievement.

He also created new courses for the STEAM program, including programs with NASCAR 1080 and in robotics and engineering.

McClintock met expected growth from 2013 to 2015, meaning students achieved at least one year worth of learning in one years’ time. It also went up one full letter grade on the North Carolina School Report Card, due to improved achievement in reading, math and science.

In 2016, Williams chose to return to the classroom. He’s been teaching fourth grade at Indian Trail Elementary, leading the team to reduce suspensions and improve school-wide behavior and leading training sessions on effective grading practices.

Prior to working at McClintock Middle, Williams was principal of Winget Park Elementary in Charlotte from 2009 to 2012, as well as assistant principal at Dilworth Elementary Visual and Performing Arts Magnet and Ashley Park Elementary schools from 2006 to 2009.

Williams started his career in 1999 in Guilford County Schools, working as a kindergarten teacher, third-grade teacher and fourth-grade teacher before moving to CMS to work as a fifth-grade teacher in 2002.

He was CMS’s Central Learning Community Principal of the Year in 2013-14 and CMS Principal of the Month for September 2015.